Was this guy a freaking devil?

"In that case, let's start the special training with you, Sukuna~"

Gojo changed the subject, snapping his fingers with an easy expression.

"It was originally prepared for Yuji... but it should work perfectly for your recovery training."

Sukuna shrugged indifferently at that.

He had already sensed it: a powerful cursed presence less than three hundred meters away from them.

The trees obscured its appearance, but judging by its strength, it was probably somewhere between Grade 2 and Grade 1.

Prepared for Yuji?

Sukuna's mouth twitched.

Gojo really didn't pull his punches...

Still, it was nothing to him.

Before he had even seen the curse, he already knew-it posed no threat to him whatsoever.

Even without his memories, even having forgotten his Cursed Technique, this curse had no chance of hurting him.

So, after a moment's thought, he raised his hand and aimed in that direction.

The black cursed energy inside him surged and burned like flames with his movement.

Dismantle... was it?

A thoughtful look flickered in his dark red eyes.

He looked toward that spot, his fingertips guided by the raging cursed energy inside him-

Slowly, he raised them-

From diagonally above, downward-

He made a gentle swipe.

An invisible slash tore through the air.

Starting from Sukuna, every tree and rock in its path was cleanly cut in two.

It struck the distant cursed spirit with ease.

The cursed spirit let out a pained howl.

Its enormous body, as tall as a building, writhed and struggled.

It looked down at its lower half, only to see torrents of black, putrid blood pouring from the wound where its body had been completely severed.

Wailing, the cursed spirit turned and fled-it had sensed an utterly terrifying presence in the direction the slash had come from.

A presence so horrifying that it dared not even entertain the slightest thought of resistance.

Dragging half its body, it scrambled frantically in the opposite direction.

But after only a few steps, it froze.

A line of blood ran straight from the top of its head down to its chest.

Before it could even let out one final cry, the two halves of its body crashed to either side.

Gojo whistled.

This was his first time-no, probably the first time any modern sorcerer had witnessed the King of Curses' Cursed Technique firsthand.

A long-range attack...

He rubbed his chin.

It could easily hit a target over three hundred meters away, without even any windup. Most ordinary sorcerers would be helpless against it...

Still, it wouldn't do much against my Limitless, unless...

His lips slowly curled into a smile.

He was already looking forward to seeing Sukuna's domain.

Done.

Sukuna lowered his hand, his expression perfectly calm.

Inside, however, he was already gloating.

Who would've thought I could use my Cursed Technique as soon as I possessed him? Getting Dismantle back was a piece of cake.

I'm a genius!

Gojo readily nodded his approval. "Yep, not bad!"

But when he looked at Sukuna, he couldn't help bursting into laughter.

Sukuna was utterly baffled.

What was going on? Why did everyone laugh when they looked at him?

Then he watched Gojo point at him, before pointing at his own shoulders and back.

He looked down at himself, and his face instantly turned green.

Two backpack straps ran from his shoulders to his waist.

Behind him, an adorably ugly Tiger-Head Doll sat obediently on his back.

Its two cute little ears fluttered in the breeze.

It was sleeping soundly.

Sukuna nearly choked.

So he'd been showing off all this time with that ugly thing on his back?

He swiftly yanked the doll off his back and hurled it at Gojo's face.

Gojo caught the doll, laughing.

"Don't throw it around. This belongs to Yuji, and it's the only one I made."

"Keep it safe. You'll need to give it back when Yuji returns."

He walked over to Sukuna with the doll dangling from his hand and good-naturedly held it out.

Sukuna hesitated.

Looking at the doll being offered to him, he wanted nothing to do with it.

But...

Fine. Ugly as it was, it was still his kid's toy. He ought to keep it.

With a helpless sigh, he reached out to take it.

Then he watched the doll in front of him open its eyes.

Its two adorable little fists slowly rose-

And slammed into his face with a bang!

Sukuna: ...

*!!!*

That bastard Gojo had definitely left the doll without cursed energy on purpose!

Sukuna tried very hard to remind himself: I can't beat up Satoru Gojo. He's Itadori's guarantor...

...But he's just begging for it!

The instant the doll punched him in the face, he had almost charged over to take Gojo down with him.

Fortunately, reason reminded him that even if he did charge, he probably couldn't take Gojo down with him anyway. Only then did he barely restrain himself.

Sukuna took a deep breath, then another.

...Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Once I get all my memories back, I'll teach that white-haired jerk a lesson!

He glanced at the doll dangling from his hand, then simply found a branch to hang it from, watching it punch away at thin air.

He felt a little better.

Sure enough, it was all relative. At least he was better off than this doll...

Wait, he actually had to compare himself to a doll now? What kind of tragedy was this?

Gojo watched Sukuna's face turn from green to white, then from white to black, deep in thought.

This Sukuna had a better temper than he had expected.

Even after being teased like this, he hadn't tried to attack. He really was nothing like the King of Curses described in the records.

Could amnesia really change someone that much? Or were those thousand-year-old records actually false?

That wasn't impossible...

After some thought, Gojo decided to set aside those ancient records for now and observe the living Sukuna directly.

For what he wanted to do later, nothing would be better than getting Sukuna to truly become one of Jujutsu High's own.

After watching the doll for a while, Sukuna turned around and asked with a sour expression.

"So what are we doing next?"

He thought for a moment, then added.

"Actually, there's something I want to ask. You said you'd bring Tiger out for five hours of special training every night. Five hours is practically the whole night. Doesn't he need to sleep?"

Young people wouldn't grow tall if they didn't get enough sleep!

Looking at Satoru Gojo's long legs and towering six-foot-three frame, he felt his own height was in jeopardy.

"Well, that's where you come in, of course~"

Gojo's voice remained light and cheerful.

"Have you felt tired at all since you came out?"

Sukuna: ...

Huh?

Actually, he hadn't.

A thought struck him. "Reverse Cursed Technique?"

"Bingo!~" Gojo snapped his fingers.

With Satoru Gojo's confirmation, Sukuna fell into thought.

As long as he didn't deliberately control it, Reverse Cursed Technique would automatically heal any abnormalities in his body.

Whether physical exhaustion or mental fatigue, it seemed capable of curing both.

So...

The corner of his eye twitched.

Could it be...

Was Gojo planning to-

...Have him heal Tiger whenever he felt tired at night after a full day of training, so Tiger could start his nighttime training? Then heal Tiger again before they went back in the morning, so he could continue training throughout the next day...

Which meant-

They'd get a lively, energetic Tiger bouncing around twenty-four hours a day?

He stared at Satoru Gojo in shock.

...Was this guy a freaking devil?!

But, but...

Reverse Cursed Technique couldn't replace sleep. Tiger wouldn't grow tall like this-

He paused, belatedly realizing he seemed to have asked that last part aloud.

"...Huh?"

Satoru Gojo, who had never been troubled by his height, fell silent.

He rubbed his chin and gave it some serious thought.

Then he solemnly reached a conclusion.

"Then... drink more milk?"

Sukuna: ...

Drink more freaking milk, my ass!

Couldn't he leave him a little more time to sleep and let him grow taller first?

Oh, fine. He couldn't...

They were currently in danger of being imprisoned at any moment. They had to grow stronger fast...

Sukuna struggled to come to terms with this whole... Tiger-Brand Perpetual Motion Machine business.

He couldn't help lighting a candle for the boy in his heart.